News
Sunday, September 18, 2011
HRCP for media’s effective social roleISLAMABAD: A workshop organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Saturday called upon the media to assume its mantle as one of the most responsible institutions of civil society and resist attempts by state and non-state actors to influence its performance.
Participants of the workshop on “Media and Civil Society” appreciated the difficult circumstances in which the media has to operate in Pakistan. While expressing solidarity with all legitimate demands of working journalists, the participants felt that the freedom of media would be meaningless unless it discharged its responsibilities as a wide-awake watchdog for public interest.
The participants discussed the media’s treatment of matters related to vulnerable groups - women, children, minorities, workers and students - and noted that while the coverage of developments concerning these groups had increased in quantity, the media still had to develop empathy with the marginalised and the underprivileged. The media’s inability or reluctance to condemn excesses against women and non-Muslim citizens contributed to the continuance of such practices.
The media must not be content with merely reporting a wrong done to any citizen or group of citizens, but must also discharge its responsibility to help victims in getting recompensed. The participants said that free press was a product of democracy and that it has a responsibility to sustain the system which gives it sustenance and legitimacy.
They pleaded for training and capacity building of journalists by media organisations as well as determining minimum qualifications for journalists. Editorial control in the news media should be exercised by journalists who are mindful of journalistic ethics and standards, rather than by the corporate interest of the owners, the workshop concluded. HRCP will shortly release a detailed report of the workshop. pr
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk